The Printed Maps of Exeter

  Appendix A   John Hooker – States and Derivatives   John Hooker’s plan went through various stages of development and two further states [1] of the map are known and a number of copies were made. The first state is described on page 22 and is held at the British Library (BL Maps C.5.a.3). The two later states are;           State 2. The dividers and the scale bar are partly erased, a tree is omitted west of the bridge and Powe Lane is changed to Pound Lane. Only one copy is known, in the possession of the Dymond family of Chagford.           State 3. A crude, wrongly orientated, compass rose is drawn over the space previously occupied by the dividers. Holloway Road has been incorrectly altered, turning east after Lark Beare and so wrongly moving Malford and the chapel of St. Leonard. Only one copy is known. This state is illustrated on page 23 and also (with state 1)...

  Appendix B   John Richards John Richards (1690-1788) was born at Mariansleigh, North Devon and received a grammar school education. He was apprenticed to Abraham Voysey , a joiner in St. Thomas’s who made Sea-quadrants. He succeeded to a business as joiner and builder and it was as a builder that he designed and built the New Hospital. However, even before completing the hospital he had worked as a surveyor. Although he was carrying out surveys for the Chamber as early as 1739 it was not until September 1746 that he was officially appointed as the City’s Surveyor. In 1744, on behalf of the Hospital of St. John, he surveyed the Manors of Clyst St. Laurance and Clyst-Gerard; in 1746 he surveyed the manor of Teign-Harvey; again in 1746 he surveyed five tenements in the parish of Bovey-Tracey; as well as tenements in Culliton, Newton Ferrers and Teignmouth. He also surveyed other properties for the Chamber in connection with charities in Awliscombe, Uffculm, Halberton, Sowt...

  Appendix C   Henry Besley Few local printers published extensively but the Besleys of Exeter could probably claim to have been one of the most prolific of local publishers. By the mid-1800s the family-run business had a long tradition stretching back almost half a century. Thomas Besley (Senior) was born in 1760 and had various business addresses as printer, bookseller and stationer or bookbinder: he is listed in various directories of the time at Southgate Street (1801 and 1811); at Holy Trinity (1803); and at Bell Hill, or more specifically at 76, Bell Hill, South Street (between 1816 and 1834). It must be assumed that Thomas was mainly a jobbing printer taking on contracts wherever possible and not taking on the extra responsibility for publishing. Thomas and Jane had 6 children including Thomas Junior who also became a printer in Exeter; Robert, born 14th October 1794 (died 1876), a type founder in the firm of Thorowgood and Besley and who became Lord Mayor of L...

Select Bibliography of Books on Devon Maps   Devon is one of the best researched counties in England and Wales in terms of its mapping and over the past 15 years a large number of important books have been published detailing some of the thousands of maps representing parts of the county. The following is a useful resource list of books which include aspects of Devon mapping. If you are aware of any further works which would be useful to those researching Devon's history through maps and charts, please let us know.  The first point of reference for anyone researching any aspect of Devon printing and publishing must be the work of Ian Maxted. His Exeter Working Papers in Book History is perhaps the most complete listing of any county’s publishing history and there are numerous lists and biographical information for the researcher. Go to the Home page at - https://bookhistory.blogspot.com/2014/10/homepage.html . The new Devon Archives and Local Studies is a useful starting poin...